Cloud computing is basically just the ability to leverage new platforms and resources that you don’t happen to own.  It goes hand-in-hand with SOA, which is laying the groundwork for a loosely coupled business that both creates and consumes services from an ever-growing selection of sources, both inside and outside the firewall. Web Oriented Architecture is another key term, and a more appropriate way to describe this, since more of these services are coming from outside providers.  Web 2.0, including sites like Linkedin and Facebook, is also a form of cloud computing.

Tight budgets and skills shortages are the main catalysts behind the growing interest in cloud computing.  With most of the major players involved and platforms already being introduced by Google (http://appengine.google.com/) and Amazon (http://aws.amazon.com/ec2/), there is no doubt cloud computing could become as big as the invention of the internet.

Although the technology is still evolving, companies large and small can see the advantages and abilities of cloud computing:

Reduced Cost

Increased Storage

Highly Automated

More Flexibility

More Mobility

More Time to Focus on Innovation in IT

So what kind of skills might be needed to obtain a new opportunity created by cloud computing?  These are just a few areas in which skills will be in high demand:

·         Open-source programming- typically JavaScript, J2EE, Flex, Ruby on Rails, Python, Perl, HTML, XML and tools like Hadoop

·         Technologies such as grid computing, utility computing and virtualization

·         Understanding of Linux operating system

·         Newest storage technologies

·         Platform as a service and SaaS (software as a service)

If you are looking to expand your career or obtain a new position, it is important to research the skills currently needed and sought after.  Cloud computing is just one of the many “hot” areas upcoming in IT.  So if you don’t want to be left behind, it might be a good time to hit the books and learn some of these in-demand skills.